Running
by musicalvampirelove
Summary: Intermission Fic. Elphaba is running – from the Gale Force, from herself. When she meets Fiyero, how much help can he be? Musicalverse, slight Fiyeraba.


**AN Hey... It's me again xD As always, sorry for language/grammar/other mistakes. And for layout mistakes, I still don't get it completely, and I can't blame that on me not being a native speaker... well, whatever. On we go ^^**

_Intermission Fic. Elphaba is running – from the Gale Force, from herself. When she meets Fiyero, how much help can he be?_

Disclamer: Oh come on... it's always the same anyway. Lalala... _Elphaba:_ Come on, spit it out. _Me: _No. I don't want to and you can't make me. Duh. _Fiyero: _She can, you know that. Save us and yturself the trouble, yeah? _Elphaba: _He's right. One... two... thr- _Me:_ Okay, okay, stop that. Itr's not mine. Maguire and all those other geniuses (is that the right plural?^^) own it. I'm just borrowing it. Crap. Happy now?

**Running**

She ran. She ran like a frightened animal, the shouts of the guards barely audible over her own laboured panting. _Damn_, she cursed soundlessly,_ Elphaba, you're an idiot. Stupid stupid stupid. Now you can see how you get yourself out of this mess._

Why hadn't she thought it through instead of flying off the handle – _again?_ Of course, it had been effective – those brutal guys scared half to death, and the three Cats hopefully safe now after they'd dashed off someplace. But she certainly could have managed a little more... discrete action. One that wouldn't have resulted in a dozen Gale Forcers chasing her through the woods, where she couldn't mount her broom for she had no hope of making it through the thick branches above her, no matter how skilled at flying she had become by now.

She grit her teeth and forced herself to keep running, trying to ignore her aching lungs. At least she had the advantage of knowing this forest on her side; a few times she heard a quiet curse indicating that one guard or other had either tripped or run into a tree, the speed and the darkness preventing them from seeing much. The sound made a small, grim smile appear on her lips as she finally, after a hairpin curve, managed to shove her broom up into some tree and pull herself up behind it, unseen.

Her followers approached and she didn't dare climb up further. She could only hope they assumed that the darkness had swallowed her as she ran into the woods and wouldn't get the idea to check the trees. Awkwardly hanging there, half lying on a branch, half clinging to it so she wouldn't fall – she'd surely land on top of one of the guys who had by now stopped and were discussing where she could have gone to, and that wasn't an option for Elphaba.

It was hard to catch her breath while her sore muscles protested against the unnatural position she was in, but after a few minutes she was able to fill her bursting lungs properly again. Her fingers desperately clutching the dark wood, she started listening to the conversation of her persecutors, which seemed to contain of swearwords mainly.

„Fuck it," a deep voice grunted. „Really, guys, I don't understand it. How does this fuckin' witch find her way 'ere? It's dark and stuff and I swear this damn trees simply _jump_ in one's way when you're not watching." Rough laughter was heard, and the Witch suppressed the urge to snort. Of course the trees didn't jump anywhere, but one or two of the Wizard's men didn't seem to be so sure about that.

„Are you sure, Tirk? Because... maybe she hexed them, you know." This voice sounded so frightened that Elphaba almost felt sympathy towards the speaker. It made her wonder at which age the Wizard recruited men for the Gale Force – this boy hardly sounded older than sixteen years. „It's no wonder she finds her way better than we do. What if she bewitched them and now if they get too annoyed by intruders they'll attack them? Because I really don't want to be a meal for a crazy living tree... We'd better keep going, don't you think?"  
„Woah, now that's a clever one," the one called Tirk sneered. „And where exactly would we go in this blasted forest? We don't know where this aberration of a woman disappeared to. Maybe we should split... If our little lad isn't too frightened of the dark. Should've stayed home with daddy, Lorin, it's less scary there."

Another wave of harsh laughter erupted under her feet, and Elphaba would have liked to spit this Tirk fellow on his head which she could see right under her face now. Another voice joined the so-called conversation.

„Stop that, men. We're not here to throw insults at one another. And I do remember telling you to _keep quiet_. I didn't think I'd have to tell you that the Witch is not deaf, and your yelling is bound to attrack her attention."

Elphaba nearly fell of the tree at that. She hardly noticed the Captain's words but she couldn't believe she was hearing correctly. It couldn't be him. Struggling to turn around slightly to get a glance at the speaker, she vaguely listened as they indeed decided to split up into pairs of which each should search a different direction. Her attempts weren't all too successful, and the only thing she could see was the soldiers disappearing between the trees – now indeed with much more discipline than before. Well, it couldn't have been him anyway, she was just hearing things.

She just wanted to let herself fall to the ground as she saw a small movement in the corner of her eyes and gripped the branch harder instead. Squinting, she could see the back of the figure's head – dark hair, a bit too long to be fashionable, maybe. Elphaba wouldn't know, but she thought she remembered Glinda saying something about it once. She ignored the memory and bit her tongue as the Captain – she could see the signs on his shoulders – turned around.

_Fiyero._

_No_, she begged,_ not him, let it not be him, he can't, he wouldn't... _But he was unmistakable, the dark skin, the pattern of blue diamonds on his face and hands, and maybe elsewhere, too –

She watched him, trying to control her breath. She could hardly feel her fingers anymore, and wished for nothing more than to be able to fall asleep on a soft bed of leaves this instant, forgetting about her screwed life, about all her failures, and about Fiyero. Holding her eyes open proved to be a difficult task, but as the prince suddenly spoke, she nearly got a heart attack.

„Elphaba?" His voice was soft, silent, and a little bit unsure. She didn't answer. She wouldn't fall for something like that, she had enough experience with the Wizard's traps. „Elphaba, I won't hurt you. I won't do anything to you. I know you're here somewhere." His eyes wandered around, trying to see through the shadows. „Those guys may be stupid, but I'm not, no matter what you think. You're not silly enough to run on when you know we're faster and we'd catch you eventually... What else should that fast turn have been for?!"

She didn't think he was stupid, but she still would not react. _We._ For a moment she wanted to trust him, but then he said _we're faster_. He was one of them, he could not be trusted. Not anymore. Her heart constricted painfully in her chest, and for a moment she couldn't concentrate anymore. Her fingers opened a little and she slipped down a few inches, gasping in surprise. Underneath, Fiyero turned seemingly into a statue. Elphaba held her breath.

„Elphie?" Slowly, he turned his head until she thought he was looking directly into her eyes. He blinked a couple of times, unsure of what to do next. „Believe me, Elphaba, I won't hurt you. Please. Trust me." As Elphaba let out some sort of giggle she realized how tired she actually was. It wasn't a funny situation, no matter how much it looked like Fiyero was talking to a tree and referring to it as „Elphie", but she couldn't control herself. His head snapped up, and she knew he had seen her. Grabbing her broom, she quickly slid to the ground, prepared to run.

Fiyero seemed startled at her sudden movement, but didn't even flinch when she held her broom threateningly in front of her, her hand only inches from his throat. She wouldn't risk anything. „What do you want?"  
Fiyero kicked his rifle away and held up his empty hands. „No need to threaten me, Elphie. I told you I wouldn't hurt you... although for a moment I thought I was wrong. It's a weird feeling, talking to thin air, you know."_  
_Elphaba didn't move. „I'm going to repeat my question. _What do you want?_ What reasons do I have to trust you?"  
Fiyero sighed. This obviously was going to be harder than he'd expected. „Look, Elphaba, I know this isn't easy for you. Hell, I'm the Captain of the Gale Force, I'm actually surprised you didn't kill me right on the spot or something. Okay, no, I'm not, I know you would never kill anyone, but you could have reacted differently and –"  
Elphaba rolled her eyes. „What's your point, Winkie Princie?"  
He actually chuckled at that. „You haven't changed that much, I guess. Okay, I sent the guards away so they wouldn't get you. I – I wanted to make sure you're okay, yeah? I've been worrying... we all have."

She still wasn't sure whether she could believe him or not, but she didn't have the strenght to resist any longer. She lowered her broom and sighed. „Okay, Fiyero. Here I am. I'm okay. I've done pretty well in the past, as a matter of fact. Considering my allround situation at least. What now? Are you going to capture me or are there some more ideas in that Winkie brain of yours?"

Fiyero shrugged. „I haven't thought ahead that much, frankly. I didn't think I'd really find you."

For a moment, Elphaba closed her eyes. „Great. That's just great. Well, in that case, I hope you don't mind if I'm off now." He obviously did mind, because he grabbed her wrist. She looked down on his hand and then met his concerned dark grey eyes. „What?"  
„I've just found you, and you want to disappear again?"  
„Listen, Captain. I'm the Wicked Witch of the West and usually I don't chat on my ways. You're an exception, but certainly not for long. I've had a long day. Would you let me go now?" She couldn't stop her voice from quivering a little – she didn't like the feeling of his hand around her wrist. She felt trapped. Fiyerto instantly took his hand away, regret and concern visibly on his face.  
„Sorry."  
She shrugged.

For a few more seconds they merely stood there, looking at each other in an awkward silence. Elphaba dropped her gaze to the ground but could still feel Fiyero glancing at her face. The world had started spinning around her in slow circles, and she really wanted to sleep now, if only to stop the pounding in her head.  
„Elphaba," she heard him say worriedly, 2when exactly was the last time you had a good meal? And a good night's sleep? You look … exhausted. Are you sure you are alright?"  
She wanted to look up at him, but suddenly her head seemed to be as heavy as a rock. Swaying a little, she looked for something to hold on to, but she couldn't feel her feet and stumbled. Fiyero catched her so she wouldn't tumble to the ground, but she was unconscious before she hit his arms.

Elphaba slowly came to her senses. Uncertainly, she took in her surroundings; it looked like a small earth cave. She couldn't remember how she'd come here.

The sound od quiet movements next to her startled the green woman and she whirled around, her hand searching for the broom that should be lying next to her. For a few heartbeats she panicked, not finding her broom, but then she recognized Fiyero and calmed down a bit, though her heart was still beating frantically. The prince shot her an apologetic look and she gave a weak half-smile in response.

The memory of what had happened returned to her as she saw Fiyero looking at her concernedly, and she turned her head to hide her blush. „How long have I been … asleep?", she asked him, feigning nonchalance. He frowned.  
„Not long, maybe half an hour or so – I just had time to find this place and get you here. How are you feeling?"  
Elphaba furrowed her brow as her world started spinning again when she tried to sit up. Fiyero rushed to her side and helped her, ignoring her protest.  
„Stop that, Fiyero – I'm fine – Stop it!"  
„Save your breath, Elphie, you're not and you know it. I want an honest answer from you. First: How are you _really_ feeling? And second: When _was _the last time you've been eating and sleeping properly?"  
Elphaba sighed and attempted to glare at him, but it made her head hurt. „It's none of your business. It's my life, not yours." A pointed stare was all she recieved as an answer.  
Huffing, she grumbled: „Okay, okay. I don't know when it was, there's no fixed rhythm there or anything, I eat what I can find and I sleep when I can." Which wasn't all too often, and hardly restful at all, but he didn't have to know that.

When she didn't go on, he sighed. „Elphaba. Please. I want to help you, but how can I do that if you don't talk to me? Do you know you look like Death in person? You're so pale you're nearly white, and it cannot be healthy being as thin as you are. It hurts, seeing you like this. So, please, in order to help you: How are you? Are you in any pain, or –"  
„My head hurts," she muttered, looking defeated. She didn't look at him as she spoke. „But that's nothing new, I'd be surprised to be without a headache suddenly." She felt him stroke her hair, softly, but she instantly stiffened. „Don't," she whispered. „Please, just – don't." Fiyero nodded, uncertainly, and pulled back. She relaxed slightly and closed her eyes tiredly.

„What do you want to know? My whole body aches. Being on the run, and you can take that literally, is pretty exhausting." She didn't want to speak to him, but the words just spilled out of her mouth. She couldn't control her tongue, and she was so embarrassed of herself she couldn't look at him.

„I'm tired, Fiyero," she whispered. „I'm just so tired. I only wanted to be good, to help, and now see where it's gotten me. I'm running, I'm constantly running, and I don't even know what I'm running from at times. I'm running from the soldiers as much as I'm running from myself, from my past, from my future, I don't know." She choked and tried to swallow her tears. „I don't know how much longer I'll be able to take it. I can't run forever, but I don't know what else to do... I'm scared. What if it's a dead end? I won't be – it can't – how could – Oh Oz, I'm just so _tired_ of it all!"

Fiyero didn't know what to do. Elphaba sat before him, jackknifed into herself, crying softly into her knees. He wanted to comfort her so badly, but when he reached out to touch her, she flinched so violently he instantly drew back his hands. So he just sat next to her, trying to comfort her just by being there, as she mumbled incoherent things to herself or to him, rocking back and forth and trying to stop her own tears.

„Rest now, Elphie," he murmured soothingly when she had calmed a bit. „I'll stay here, you can sleep. Nobody is going to harm you, I swear." She didn't react, but after a while her quiet sobs faded slightly and Fiyero helped her lie back down. He could see that she didn't want this, that she wanted to be strong because she never showed weakness, but he knew she needed to sleep, and she wouldn't get any rest if he let her go now. So he just mumbled soft promises to her until her breathing had evened and he was sure she was fast asleep. He then took off his coat and covered her slim frame with it as he saw her shivering on the cold ground. Lying down next to her, hopefully in a distance she could still be comfortable with, he pondered the amazing mystery that was Elphaba Thropp until he drifted off himself, both of them safe from curious thanks to a soft curtain of leaves.

When Fiyero woke up, he instantly realized that Elphaba wasn't with him anymore. His coat was folded neatly next to him instead, with a little note on it. Fiyero smiled a little when he saw it – it was just like Elphaba, not even as a fugitive she would be found without pen and paper with her.

_Fiyero,  
I'm sorry if that's not what you hoped for when awakening, but the sun was rising already and I had to get going. I didn't want to disturb you.  
I apologize for my behaviour last night, you shouldn't have seen that. It's not like me, but I can't change it now. Thank you for staying, though. For everything. You probably wanted me to stay and give me, whatever, a warm meal or something, but I'm sure you knew it wouldn't work like this. In case your actual intention was to turn me in, I'm sorry it didn't work – but I don't think so, even if you never know, right?  
Thank you again for your help. I don't think we'll meet again anytime soon – I've become quite good at running lately and it's not too likely for you or your guards to catch me, and I have my broom – well, I don't think any of you can bring me down that easily. I'm still running, and I will be as long as I can. Tell Glinda I – no, don't tell her anything. I don't want to upset her. But watch over her – she's a tough girl, but she can be so fragile. And watch over yourself.  
I hope when we meet again it's in a better Oz. Without a Wicked Witch, because a Wicked Witch shouldn't be necessary from begin with.  
Elphaba_

Fiyero smiled sadly. He should have expected her to run again. He was sorry that she still didn't trust him completely, but he understood. He just hoped she would be alright. And that, one day, she wouldn't feel the need to run anymore.

**AN That's was it. Love it, hate it? Anything? It's a oneshot so far, but maybe I'll get more ideas... but I won't bother if nobody want them. What do you say?**


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